Hi I am using ind1950 (Industry, 1950 basis. https://usa.ipums.org/usa-action/variables/IND1950#codes_section) as the industry code to look at population in industry categories over time. Is military force included in any of the listed categories? – public administration? others? Or military is not in the universe?
I am puzzled. Any advise would be appreciated. Thank you!

This is a good question. After looking into this a bit it looks like most observations that are coded as OCC1950==595 “Members of the armed services” are also coded as IND1950==916 “Federal Public Administration.” There are several exceptions to this rule, particularly in decennial census samples between 1860 and 1980, but in every sample the vast majority of individuals who have their occupation coded in OCC1950 as a member of the armed forces have their industry coded in IND1950 as federal public administration. That being said, if you are looking to more cleanly identify members of the armed forces over time, I suggest using the OCC1950 variable.

Thank you so much for the answer! Just to clarify, in your answer, “There are several exceptions to this rule, particularly in decennial census samplesbetween 1860 and 1980, ……” you meant the 12 available census between 1860 and 1980, this leaves out only the census in 1850, 1990, 2000, and 2010, right? Just want to make sure 1860 was not a typo of 1960… Thank you!